Shutterbug has just launched an exciting new Instagram photo contest with Ogden Made bags! Every Friday, we will pick our favorite photo on Instagram and the winner will receive a free Junction City Messenger Medium bag from Ogden Made.

We recently got some hands-on time with the two newest lenses in Sigma’s arsenal: the Sigma 24mm F/1.4 DG HSM Art lens and 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens. Both lenses, which will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts, go on sale this month at relatively decent prices considering their impressive specs.

American photographer Neil Craver has been announced as the overall winner of Professional category with the title: Monochrome Photographer of the Year 2014 and $2000 in prize money. His winning image, called “Manufacturing Content” is a unique glimpse into the subconscious of the mind.

Lowepro just launched its new Echelon series, the company's first high-end collection of stylish photography bags designed for fashionable pros. The limited edition, three-piece Echelon series includes a roller, an attaché case and a laptop brief with luxury features such as custom-cast metal hardware and saddle-stitched, premium leather handles.

Nikon introduced an amazing superzoom camera tonight: the Coolpix P900, all-in-one compact that features a head-turning 83x built-in zoom lens. For those keeping score at home, that translates into an astronomical 24-2000mm (in 35mm equivalent) zoom lens in a camera not much bigger or heavier than a small, entry-level DSLR.

Nikon launched the 24.2-megapixel D7200 DSLR for photo enthusiasts and semi-professional photographers tonight. The D7200 uses an APS-C-sized “DX-format” CMOS sensor that’s essentially the same chip as the one in the previous model though it has been “slightly optimized” for the new DSLR, according to Steve Heiner, a Nikon USA spokesperson.

Margot Cheel is an award-winning aerial photographer whose work has been exhibited in New England, South Florida and Ontario Canada. Cheel’s photos have also appeared in numerous publications, calendars and environmental presentations. She recently published a hard cover photography book of her coastal images of Cape Cod entitled “Sea & Sand from the Sky: Aerial Photography”.

Cheel received her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College, Vermont, and worked in production at WGBH-TV in Boston. She is also the co-founder the Twin Willows Arts and Craft Center in Ontario, Canada. After more than three decades as a creative arts teacher, she launched an aerial photography business that merged her love of the arts with her passion for flying.

We’ve seen colorful orbs in a light painting before but never as many as the East Coast Light Painting (ECLP) group crammed into a single exposure this past summer. In fact, the Guinness World Records just confirmed that the ECLP set the world record for most complete light orbs in a single exposure with 200 orbs.

A handy photo accessory for active outdoor photographers, Cotton Carrier’s new StrapShot EV1 is thinner than the original model, and includes a redesigned tether and a wrist strap (that can also be used as a safety leash against accidental drops). The StrapShot EV1 is compatible with any backpack, sling bag or belt.

WD (Western Digital) has launched four new network attached storage (NAS) devices including the new My Cloud Expert Series, which is aimed at photographers and other creative professionals. NAS devices, which connect to a home or studio network and allow multiple users to access, manage and stream stored files, have become an increasingly popular storage solution for photographers.

The much-buzzed about Konost FF camera is the brainchild of a new American start-up company (made up of engineers and designers) who are passionate about photography. The company's 20-megapixel, 35mm full-frame digital rangefinder camera is currently under development but is already attracting a lot of attention on the web for its Leica-like look and its simplicity.

The mayor of the Belgian town of Charleroi, Paul Magnette, admits he’s not an expert on photography but he says he does know bad journalism when he sees it. And he knew he had to act when he saw that Italian photographer Giovanni Troilo had won first prize for "contemporary issues” in the prestigious World Press Photo's contest for his bleak photo essay about Charleroi called “The Dark Heart of Europe.”

There's a famous line from the otherwise forgettable movie "The Godfather: Part III." It's the scene where Al Pacino, playing an aging Michael Corleone (in bad prosthetics and make-up), laments that he can't seem to get out of the family Mafia business and live the straight life. "Just when I thought I was out . . . they pull me back in," he says angrily.